The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode we had witnessed Vidura’s yet another important explanation on different things that we crib about in our daily lives, yet we do not have any control over them. For instance, we worry so much about birth and death of a person, getting older and weaker as age progresses, being rich or poor and also about our ever-changing moods and emotions. Thus the message from yesterday’s episode for all of us is very simple – Never get carried away by those things that aren’t in our hands and never feel sad or happy about these kinds of things! Let us focus on those things that we have a control on and let us invoke Bhagawan’s blessings for those things to happen successfully!

Bhagawan Krishna explains the above point in the Bhagawad Gita as follows:

“Jaatasya hithdhruvo mrithyuhu druvanjanma mritasyacha!

Tasmaath aparihaaryerthe nathvam shochisumarhasi!!”

 Here Bhagawan explains thus, “Oh Arjuna! If there is a living being on earth, there is definitely going to be a birth and a death for that being. This is inevitable and this is going to happen come what may! Just because you are feeling happy or sad, is the birth and death cycle going to stop? Hence, why waste time in thinking about birth and death? If there is a cause, there will automatically be an effect! This is the law of the world and nobody can change it. Hence, do your duty correctly within the stipulated time between your birth and death and this would add value and purpose to your living in this world. Your mind should be focused only on the duty and not on cribbing and feeling sad about birth or death!”

If Bhagawan Krishna explains to us so clearly, we need to give it a serious thought and try and not to feel sad for everything in life. Bhagawan again says in a different section of the Bhagawad Gita thus:

“Sarva dharmaan parithyajya maam ekam sharanam vraja!

Aham tvaa sarva paapebhyo moksha ishyaami maashuchaha!!”

This is quite a famous sloka of the Bhagawad Gita wherein Bhagawan declares openly that He is the only solace in this world for all of us. He is the one who takes care of all our “Paapa” and “Punya” (Good and Bad Karma) and He is the only person who grants us the highest “Moksha” or “Salvation”. Hence given this fact, Bhagawan finally says “Maashuchaha”, which means, “Please do not feel worried or sad!” If Bhagawan Himself is saying that we shouldn’t feel sad or worried, why are we to worry? He’s there to take care of us! He’s ever ready to come to us if we’re in dire problem! He’s there to protect us at critical times! If we develop this thought within us, we would automatically never fear for anything in life.

But are we able to practise this in reality? Every passing day we keep worrying about something or someone. Why are we doing this if Bhagawan is saying “Maashuchaha”? There might be two possible reasons – Either Bhagwan should be lying, or we’re unable to accept Bhagawan’s words! Never are we going to say that Bhagawan is lying – This is never going to be possible. If Bhagawan says something, it is for the benefit of the whole world and He would never go back on his words. So the problem is that, we’re somewhere down the line unable to accept and realize Bhagawan’s words! If Bhagawan says “Please do not worry”, we should make up our mind not to worry or crib about anything in life. We should have belief and trust in Bhagawan’s words. If we do not trust His words, then whose words in this world are we going to trust?

Hence it is upto each and every one of us to introspect this important point and try to mend our ways. We should realize that there’s no point in cribbing about anything or anybody in this world. We’re not here to change the world. We’re not here to correct and mend other people’s ways. We’re here to mend our own ways and reach Bhagawan at the end of this birth. Our focus should only be on this point. If the world has to be mended or changed, Bhagawan is there to take care of it. We’re nowhere in the picture for that.

Hence for today, let us ponder this important fact again! I’m repeatedly re-iterating this point for the third episode in a row, because this is the crux of our entire “Sanaathana Dharma” – We’re born in this world because Bhagawan has given us an opportunity to clean ourselves up, so that we become ready to reach “Vaikunta”. So our focus should only be on this, rather than cribbing about worldly happenings and getting carried away in the “Maya” (Illusion) of this world! So let us give it a serious thought and let’s focus our mind in doing the needful! We shall wait till the next episode to witness Vidura’s next important message! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed the continuation of the discussion on why do people enter into a depression so easily in the modern day. One important part of yesterday’s discussion was that, the moment we start cribbing even for small things in life, we start losing our peace of mind and thus we enter into a state of depression very easily. Hence the message is that, we should learn to make ourself satisfied with what we have and try to lead a happy life with whatever exists in our hands. If we start to desire for things that aren’t there in our hands and if we do not end up getting what we desire, we start cribbing and getting frustrated with ourself and on others. Thus, the lesser our expectations from others and the world, the more peace of mind we get. Hence it is extremely important to always have a check on our desires and we should ensure that it doesn’t go beyond control for us to repent later on with depression and other diseases.

Now moving on further, Vidura adds on to his above point on the mental aspect of human beings and explains another important point pertaining to this subject. He now says that certain things in our life would inevitably keep happening again and again and we do not have any control over it. So what’s the use of cribbing and getting frustrated on these certain things that repeatedly keep happening in our life? Vidura explains thus:

“Punarnaro mriyate jaayate cha – Punarnaro heeyate vardhate cha!

Punarnaro yaachathee yaachate cha – Punarnaraha shothachi shotthache cha!!”

Here Vidura explains about those things that are beyond our control in our life. He starts with “Punarnaro mriyate jaayate cha” – This means that our birth and death are not in our control. Both of them keep happening and hence there’s no point in feeling extremely happy about birth and extremely sad and sorrowful about death! Both are inevitable not only for human beings, but also for all living beings in this world! If a person has to take birth, irrespective of whomsoever he/she might be, this person has to die some day or the other. There is no escape from this!

Next up, Vidura explains “Punarnaro heeyate vardhate cha!” – Here Vidura explains the next point that a human being grows in size and/or contract in size as we progress in age! This is also not in our control. We can see this in our every day life too – After taking birth during the initial years, the child would grow in size and height. But after the age of say 23-24, the growing stops and the height stabilises. However, after a certain age – Say beyond 55-60 years, our body starts to shrink due to various reasons and we gradually start getting weaker. After 65-70 years of age, we get weaker still and get susceptible to the attack of various diseases that would further deteriorate our health. This is a cycle and it keeps happening to every human being in this world! Hence instead of feeling sad about it, we should take this in the positive way that we’re burning all our “Karma” with all these sufferings, and move on!

Next, Vidura explains an important point here – “Punarnaro yaachathee yaachate cha!” – Here he says that a human being is both going to be a rich guy as well as a beggar at some point in life! During our childhood days, we were literally like a beggar, awaiting the care of our parents and our close family circles for all our necessities in life, including food, shelter, education, etc. This is because we didn’t have an income for our own self to support ourself. Later on of course, after we complete our graduation we go for jobs and start earning money. This is the time wherein we’re able to sustain ourself with the income that we get and this is the time when we feel that we’re rich with many luxuries (as per each of our financial capacities). Post this, when we retire from our work and as we get older, we need to depend on our children for our survival and even to take care of our own health! Thus we again transform into a beggar in another way because ultimately we depend on someone else for our survival, isn’t it? Hence, all these things are also not in our control and there’s no point in worrying about all this!

Finally Vidura says, “Punarnaraha shothachi shotthache cha!” – Here Vidura explains our every day thought process that keeps on changing – Some days we might be happy and some days we might be sad with mixed emotions. It all depends on our moods and emotions on that particular day – One good event that happens that particular day might make us extremely happy and satisfied and similarly one sad event if happens any day, can make us sad and doomed for that whole day! Hence, these moods and emotions keep changing too and these aren’t in our hands every time as well!

Hence by explaining thus, Vidura advises King Dhirdiraashtra, “Oh King! Are you going to keep worrying for those things that are constantly going to change over time? What’s the use of doing that? You’re under the perception that you can cheat anybody and everybody for some momentous happiness and easily get away! Please change this crooked mindset of yours! Please focus your mind on “Dharma”! Please do not get carried away by these temporary and momentous pleasures and do not pave the way for mass destruction. The ball is in your court now!”

Saying thus, Vidura again tries his best to mend King Dhirdiraashtra’s ways. The message from this episode for all of us is very simple – Never get carried away by those things that aren’t in our hands and never feel sad or happy about these kinds of things! Let us focus on those things that we have a control on and let us invoke Bhagawan’s blessings for those things to happen successfully! We shall wait till tomorrow’s episode to witness the next important message from Vidura! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed a key discussion about why do people get into a mental depression and what are the bad consequences of undergoing a mental depression. Vidura has clearly explained that Mental Depression is a “gateway” to all other diseases that might attack our human body. Vidura advises thus, “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! Please understand this above fact! Don’t give room for any more mental depression. Enough is enough. Please do not lose out on your confidence! Please understand that you are in a powerful position called “King”. You’re not realizing your capabilities and power that you possess!” Saying thus, Vidura tries to motivate King Dhirdiraashtra here so that he makes an effort to come out of his depressed state of mind.

Thus from this important section of the Vidura Neeti we should clearly understand that mental depression can becomes a serious menace for us and to avoid this, we should constantly keep cheering ourself up with positive thoughts, prayers towards Bhagawan and boosting up our confidence every now and then. We should realize that if we happen to slip into depression mode, it becomes very difficult for us to come out of it.

To add one more point into this important discussion, here comes a question – Why do we get into a mental depression? What causes mental depression in human beings? The simple answer is that, we do not allocate any time for thinking and focusing about our “Aathman”. Rather, we spend our whole time focusing only on the physical pleasures of our body and we do everything for all the 24 hours of the day only to satisfy our physical pleasures – We go out, earn money, meet friends, relatives, watch a movie, beautify our body in many ways, eat out, etc. All these activities take away our entire 24 hours of our day. Now where is the time for us to think about Bhagawan and our “Aathman”? This is why, if something goes wrong with our physical pleasures, if something hinders us and gives some problems with respect to our physical body, we start feeling doomed completely! We start feeling helpless and deserted and thus we’re unable to come out of the problem, hence we start getting into a depression mode! Rather, if we try and give equal importance to our physical pleasures as well as our “Aathman” (Bhagawan), even if something goes wrong with our physical pleasure, our “Aathman” (Bhagawan) is going to keep us going forward. Our Aathman or Bhagawan never fails us at any time. He is always going to be there with us to rescue us from whatever problems we have. But sadly today, since we’re getting carried away by all the worldly happenings around us, we’re failing to realize this fact.

This is why we constantly keep saying that we should perform our “Nithya-Anushtaanam” (Regular Prayers) every day without fail. Once we start allocating some time of our day in thinking about Bhagawan, we shall automatically gain that confidence to face any problems or challenges in this world head on! By doing our regular prayers sincerely and with full concentration, we automatically develop an “Aura” around us in such a way that even if someone comes near us to create some danger or problem, he/she wouldn’t be able to do so! Hence we need to realize this particular importance of chanting our daily prayers without fail.

Moreover, some people have this habit – Even if they do not face any problems in life, they keep telling and propagating to the world that they’re suffering a lot! 🙂 The moment we start thinking that we’re suffering – This is the start point of getting into mental depression! Some people will never get satisfied with whatever they get or whatever they are entitled to! For instance, if a person wins a lottery worth INR 1 crore and if he still cribs by saying “Oh! I should have duly got 1.5 crores, but somebody in the middle spoilt it with some politics and I lost Rs. 50 Lacs!” We shall be able to witness innumerable people like this around us. In other words, some people keep cribbing all the time for something or the other. This exactly means that these people have already entered a state of depression, because, this person is unable to make himself or herself satisfied with any possible solution!

Thus the message here is that, not everybody in this world can get every kind of pleasure that we desire for! In fact, this is precisely the basic fundamental criteria for the entire study of Management Science – “Resources are always a scarcity in this world and we need to manage our resources carefully so that optimal usage of resources can be achieved!” If we look deeply within this statement, every organization, every business in this world operates under some sorts of constraints. No organization can be an ideal or a perfect one. Hence it is upto us to make ourself satisfied with whatever resources and facilities are available to us. So for today, let us realize this important fact of Management and let us appreciate Vidura’s explanation on this context! We shall wait till the next episode to witness the next important message from Vidura. Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed yet another important message from Vidura, this time with regards to some important characteristics of a true friend. As the old adage in English goes – A friend in need is a friend indeed, Vidura also explains on similar lines that we should choose our close aides or friends very carefully. There might be innumerable people whom we come across every passing day. However, many of them might be opportunistic in nature in some way or the other, or they would mingle with us for fulfilling some personal agenda of theirs by using us in some way. We need to be extremely careful not to fall into this trap. This is where we again need to use our sixth sense called “Discrimination”. Before we could establish friendship with someone, we should analyze the person for his/her behavior, actions and words and then make a decision to open ourselves up to that person. Through the sloka that we discussed yesterday, Vidura clearly indicates that we should only choose people who are balanced in their state of mind, those who have a complete control over their senses and most importantly those who are devoid of any expectations from us for their timely help! In other words, true friends are totally selfless in their approach towards us and are always ready to lend a helping hand and a shoulder to cry upon, during our critical times!

Saying thus, Vidura pokes King Dhirdiraashtra with a small pause here. The message is very clear – How many such true friends does King Dhirdiraashtra have in his palace around him? Vidura thus explains, “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! Please reflect upon your condition now – There are innumerable people around you in your courtroom every day but do you think they’re true friends or advisors for you? They enjoy all the comforts, luxuries, good wealth, food, etc. in the name of you, and finally what is the output that they provide you with? The answer is Zero! All of these people are selfish in nature and they’re only interested in their luxurious living and survival. They neither care for you nor for your Hastinaapura Kingdom! Sadly you’re not realizing this fact and you’re getting carried away by their whims and fancies! Hence please understand that all people around you are eating the food from your house and are thinking of dethroning you as soon as possible! They have tremendous amounts of expectations from you that you would fulfil all their desires and their personal agenda. However, if you get into a problem, nobody is going to come to your rescue! Oh King! Thus please understand that such friendship with expectations would never sustain in the long run! The earlier you realize this, the better it is for you!”

Lashing out thus, Vidura continues to explain to King Dhirdiraashtra the next important message. Vidura explains thus:

“Akasmaathyeva kupyanti praseedhantyani mitthathaha!!”

 Vidura now continues his above point by again trying to educate King Dhirdiraashtra thus, “Oh King! Such unstable people (whom you have as sons and friends) are never dependable in nature – You would never know when they would be happy, when they would get ferocious, when they would take vengeance against you, etc. Hence please do not go behind such people!”

Vidura continues by saying thus, “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! I understand that whatever I’m telling currently is not pleasing you in any manner. I know that what I say is irritating you! However please listen to me carefully. You’re undergoing a state of mental depression with all what is going around you currently. Hence rather than going behind the false guidance of people like Sahuni, etc. have faith in Dharma and have faith in whatever I tell you. Your first step now is to come out of your mental depression!”

“Santaapaath brashyate roopam! Santaapaath brashyate bhalam!”

Now Vidura explains the consequences of undergoing mental depression. This is extremely important to all of us since in today’s world we’re exposed to innumerable disturbances in innumerable ways – Family, profession, society, etc. Hence let us listen carefully to this now – Vidura explains here that those people who undergo extreme mental depression slowly start losing their physical attractiveness and beauty. Those people who undergo extreme depression also start losing their strength – Both Physical as well as Mental strength. They start losing their confidence and will power (“Vairaagya”)! In addition to all this, those who suffer from mental depression start getting all kinds of diseases very easily!

Thus in a nutshell, this disease called “Mental Depression” is the main door that opens up for all other diseases to enter into our body!

Hence Vidura advises thus, “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! Please understand this above fact! Don’t give room for any more mental depression. Enough is enough. Please do not lose out on your confidence! Please understand that you are in a powerful position called “King”. You’re not realizing your capabilities and power that you possess!” Saying thus, Vidura tries to motivate King Dhirdiraashtra here so that he makes an effort to come out of his depressed state of mind.

Hence for today let us realize that mental depression is a very dangerous disease that we can get. To avoid this, we should constantly keep cheering ourself up with positive thoughts, prayers towards Bhagawan and boosting up our confidence every now and then. We should realize that if we happen to slip into depression mode, it becomes very difficult for us to come out of it and moreover, we end up paving the way for other diseases to come and attack us! Hence let us give this message a serious thought and do the needful immediately! We shall wait till the next episode to witness the continuation of this important discussion. Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed yet another important message from Vidura in regards to some important characeristics of a righteous leader (king in this context). He had explained that a righteous leader is an extremely pious person by nature, has complete control over his mind and his five senses, performs only actions that are good and beneficial for his kingdom and for himself (Punya Karma) and also serves ample amount of food for those who are in dire need of it (hungry). Here in due course we also had a small discussion on why is “Anna Dhaanam” (Serving food) extremely significant in today’s scenario too – We have the customary practice of serving breakfast, lunch and dinner on important occasions of marriages, “Upanayanam”, “Shraadham”, etc. for all those people who come to attend these functions. This is because, if we serve any other thing other than food to anyone, satisfaction is never going to arise. Whereas, if we serve well cooked, tasty food for everybody, automatically their stomach gets the fullest satisfaction and in turn they bless the occasion with their happiness. This is the reason why we give a prime importance to “Anna Dhaanam” in the tradition of our Hindu Sanaathana Dharma.

Now moving on further, given these above-mentioned charactersitcs of a righteous person, Vidura goes on further to build on this point – He now talks about the importance of friendship. What are the important characteristics of a true friend? Vidura explains thus:

“Na tham mithram yasyakopaath bhibheti! Yaddva mitram chankithena upacharyam!!

Yasmin mithre pithareshvaaseetha! Yahaa kaschith api asamvaddhaha!!”

Through the above sloka, Vidura explains the important characteristics that a true friend should not have! He explains this idea in an indirect way so as to poke King Dhirdiraashtra with the point that all of his friends around him are embodiments of these characterstics. Now let us witness the sloka in detail:

Vidura commences by saying “Na tham mithram yasyakopaath bhibheti” – This means that a person who gives room to intense anger and frustration should never be encouraged to be our friend! In other words, those people who become angry very quickly are extremely dangerous to move around with. Because we never know when they would become angry on us! 🙂 Moreover, an angry person’s mind is highly unstable and if we require help or a guidance at a critical time, these people would end up messing up the whole situation, rather than helping us to come out of it successfully. Hence Vidura advises us that we should be careful enough not to choose an angry person as our best friend.

Also, a person who always has a fear or nervousness in whatever he/she does, should never be encouraged to be amidst our close circles. This again pertains to the stability of that person in terms of decision-making at critical situations. If a person is in some sorts of a constant fear about everything and is in a confused state of mind, how can we approach such people for help? Hence Vidura advises us to avoid such kinds of people too!

Vidura continues further thus, “Yaddva mitram chankithena upacharyam!” – Here he says that those people, who are constantly doubtful and nosy about everything in life, are another unfit category of people to have friendship with! In our daily life too we might come across such people wherein they tend to ask thousands of questions even for a small aspect. This shows that there is always some iota of doubt and distrust in them. Such people who are always doubtful should also be avoided as good friends!

Next he explains, “Yasmin mithre pithareshvaaseetha!!” – Here Vidura explains an important point. Those people who would voluntarily come up to us and offer their help like a father or a mother during critical times are indeed the greatest friends for our life. This directly coincides with our famous modern day English proverb – “A friend in need is a friend indeed!” Those people whose heart pains while seeing us suffer and those people who run towards us to offer a helping hand and a shoulder to cry at times of our distress are real friends.

Finally Vidura explains “Yahaa kaschith api asamvaddhaha!!” – In continuation to the above point, Vidura now explains that those people who do not have any expectations in return to their favor for us and those people who offer their selfless service to us at critical times are true friends! Here is where Vidura indirectly pokes King Dhirdiraashtra thus, “Oh King! Now tell me, how many true friends have you got in your life!”

Thus the salient message from today’s episode is that we should be very careful while we choose our friends in life at every stage – There might be innumerable people whom we come across every passing day. However, many of them might be opportunistic in nature in some way or the other, or they would mingle with us for fulfilling some personal agenda of theirs by using us in some way. We need to be extremely careful not to fall into this trap. This is where we again need to use our sixth sense called “Discrimination”. Before we could establish friendship with someone, we should analyze the person for his/her behavior, actions and words and then make a decision to open ourselves up to that person. So for today let us ponder over this important point and let us wait till tomorrow’s episode for the next message from Vidura! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed an interesting and an important message of Vidura with regards to who is an “Adhama-Purusha”. Rather than explaining the characteristics of an “Adhama Purusha” directly, Vidura invokes an example of Ducchasana and Duryodhana to explain it. By that way, he lashes out at King Dhirdiraashtra for having such disastrous sons as his potential successors and says that an “Adhama Purusha” lacks trust in himself as well as in everyone around him, however senior or junior they might be with respect to age, knowledge and experience. Vidura fumes at King Dhirdiraashtra further that Hasthinapura Kingdom would be completely ruined if it was handed over to an “Adhama Purusha” like Duryodhana. Rather, if the reins were passed on to Yuddihstra who is an epitome of an “Utthama Purusha”, the kingdom would flourish and “Dharma” would be reinstated.

This is one of the most relevant explanations of Vidura for all of us in today’s world – In some way or the other, all of us tend to become “Adhama Purusha” at different times and situations, because we look at problems looming large and we get carried away by them. Eventually we start to crib about them, instead of taking them head on! Hence let us develop the habit of trust and treat problems as challenges and thus move ahead by breaking all the shackles with our will power (“Vairaagya”), coupled with our intense prayers towards Bhagawan.

Hence so far Vidura had described in detail about people who do not have any trust within them for anything and now he moves on to explain few important characteristics that would bring name and fame to a person. Vidura says thus:

“Tapaha damaha brahmavittham vithaanaaha!

Punyaa vivaahaaha satata anna dhaanam!!”

Here Vidura once again reiterates certain important characteristics that a righteous king or a leader should possess. This is applicable to all of us in our own ways too and hence let’s focus a bit more attention.

Vidura commences by explaining about “Tapas” – This might be known to many of us by now as I’ve explained about this under innumerable contexts. A person who is pious in nature with a calm and a balanced state of mind and with unending devotion towards Bhagawan and His “Gunas” is considered to be extremely high in “Tapas”. Next he says “Damaha” – This means that a person should be able to have complete control over all his five senses by using his sixth sense called “discrimination”. We’ve seen this in detail a few episodes back and readers are requested to recollect accordingly.

Third, Vidura explains that a righteous person should be a “Brahma-Vittham”. This means that he should be well educated and well versed in the Vedas. This would help him gain the knowledge as to how to deal with different things, people and situations in this world in a way that “Dharma” is protected. Fourthly Vidura says “Vidaanam” – This means that a righteous person should be able to control his mind and channelize it in the path of “Dharma”. This is where most of us fail today – We get carried away with the whims and fancies of our mind and this is why we describe our mind as a mad monkey! Hence we need to find ways to control our mind and it’s thought processes and should be channelized accordingly.

Next, Vidura explains “Punyaa Vivaahaaha” – This means that a  king should perform righteous actions that would earn the “Punya Karma”, both for himself as well as for his kingdom! Immediately when we see the phrase “Punyaa Vivaahaa” it doesn’t only signify marriage. Of course it does, but there are higher aspects in life that is also signified by this particular phrase. Here Vidura explains that a righteous person should be an epitome in performing good deeds for the benefit of the whole world and not only for himself and his family.

Finally Vidura explains, “Satata anna dhaanam” – This means that a person should give sufficient amount of food for those who are in dire need of it. Giving food (“Anna Dhaanam”) is one of the most important and the highest “Punya Karma” that we can perform – Even in today’s life. This is the reason why food occupies an important position in any function with respect to the Hindu Sanaathana Dharma. For instance even if we attend a marriage function today, the most important aspect is providing good food three times a day for all those people who have come to attend it. Even if we have to perform ”Shraadha Karma” for our departed parents, donating food occupies a prime place as part of the agenda. Thus for anything and everything, providing food for other people have always been part and parcel of our rich Indian culture and heritage for generations after generations and for thousands of years now!

But we may ask why do we do this. The simple reason is that, ample and tasty food is the only thing that can satisfy a human being in this world! If we offer money as a donation or as a gift, or if we offer something in kind as a gift to someone, people are always going to crib about it. For instance if we make an offering of 1000 rupees, people are always going to question us as to why did we offer only 1000 rupees and not 1500 rupees! This is an endless game! Whereas, if we offer tasty and sufficient food to people, even if they do not bless us directly, their stomach would bless us! This is because the stomach is the only part of our body that knows its limit! 🙂 That it, it can take only a limited amount of food and by that it gets full and can’t take more! If we are fed with sufficient food, we generally tend to get satisfied and happy and this is the reason why we have a tradition of offering good quality food to all those people who visit our home and also for important functions like marriage, “Upanayanam”, etc.

So for today, let us realize the significance of these important qualities that Vidura is explaining and let us introspect within us to check if we’re on the right track of a righteous person! We shall wait till the next episode to witness more of Vidura’s messages! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed the important characteristics of an “Utthama Purusha”, “Madhyama Purusha” and an “Adhama Purusha” in detail. We had mentioned that a significant demarcation between the three categories of people are that, an “Utthama Purusha” would never see any fault in anybody and will take everything and every situation in the positive way and move on. Whereas, a “Madhyama Purusha” is a person who would see some fault happening in others, but would never rake it up into big issues and create problems. In other words, he would be a tolerant person and would keep moving on with the problem. An “Adhama Purusha” is a person who creates all the problems, complains about others constantly for anything and everything, thus blowing up issue after issue!

Such are the characteristics of each of the categories. We’ve seen Vidura explaining the first two categories in big detail, however, he had reserved his detailed explanation on “Adhama Purusha” for the next sloka. Here, the intention is to poke King Dhirdiraashtra by pulling up the illustration of his son Ducchaasana. He’s telling King Dhirdiraashtra thus, “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! Let me explain the characteristics of your own son Ducchaasana for further explanation!”

Here we should note that Vidura is trying to explain the characteristics of “Adhama Purusha”, indirectly through his candid explanation about Ducchaasana! Saying thus, Vidura goes on to explain:

“Na shraddhadhaati kalyaanam parebhyaha aatma shankithaha!

Niraakarothi mithraani yovaisaha adhama purushaha!!”

Here Vidura explains clearly that those people who are not in a position to express themselves in a positive and an auspicious manner, who doesn’t have confidence and belief in one’s own self, and also on others (Here, Vidura is talking about the “trust” factor, which is very important for a person to survive in this world in all walks of life), is a perfect epitome of an “Adhama Purusha”. Thus pointing out at Ducchaasana and Duryodhana, (two main sons of King Dhirdiraashtra) Vidura lashes out thus, “Oh King! See the irony here! Here’s a son of yours who neither has trust in him nor on others! He even constantly doubts the loyalty of seniors like Guru Dhronaachaarya and Bhishma too! If you’re going to hand over the reins of the Hasthinaapura Kingdom into the hands of such a crook person, how on earth do you think the kingdom is going to prosper? If a king doesn’t trust himself or even his close aides, how is he going to trust his people and their words? How is he going to listen to his people with an open mind? How is he going to solve people’s problems? How is he going to set himself as a role model for his subjects? Hence, those people who do not even have an iota of trust for onself and for others, are called “Adhama Purusha”!

Vidura continues to lash out thus: “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! You might have wondered why didn’t I give examples to explain the other two categories of people! It is only because I wasn’t able to find even one person who would be fit to fall under those two categories! However, I’m able to explain “Adhama Purusha” at great length and with innumerable examples because everybody including you falls under this catergory! See how sad the situation is! Hence King Dhirdiraashtra! Even now it is not too late! Please wake up from your slumber of “Agnyaana” (Ignorance)! You’re complaining that you’re not getting sleep! But your ignorance is making you sleep and slumber to hell! So please realize this and try to mend your as well as Duryodhana’s ways! If you do not trust the valor of the Paandavas, you’re indirectly sending out a message that you don’t trust the importance of Bhagawan Krishna as well – because Bhagawan Krishna would always side himself towards “Dharma”. Please stop cribbing and complaining about everyone and everything. Please have some iota of trust on yourself and the Paandavas. If Hasthinaapura Kingdom is in their hands, it is going to prosper like never before! Please do the needful immediately and save yourself and your sons from the wrath of Yuddishtra and Bhagawan Krishna!”

Saying thus, Vidura explains in detail about the importance of not being an “Adhama Purusha”. This is also applicable to all of us today – In some way or the other, all of us become “Adhama Purusha” at different times and situations, because we look at problems looming large and we get carried away by them. Eventually we start to crib about them, instead of taking them head on! Hence let us develop the habit of trust and treat problems as challenges and thus move ahead by breaking all the shackles with our will power (“Vairaagya”), coupled with our intense prayers towards Bhagawan! Let us have the trust on Bhagawan and take a positive step forward from today! 🙂 We shall wait till the next episode to witness more of Vidura’s important messages! Stay tuned! 🙂

 

 

In the previous episode we had witnessed yet another important message from Vidura, who now invokes Dattathreya’s words of advice to highlight certain points to King Dhirdiraashtra. Now he speaks about how we should maintain ourselves by not talking or thinking ill of others at any instance. More than talking, we should not even think ill about others in whatsoever way. Even if the other person abuses us, scolds us in a bad way, we should still try and maintain our balance not to curse them. We should always remember that if we have bad thoughts about others, these bad thoughts would create an aura around us that is bad, and eventually we would not be able to make any progress spiritually. Each time when we think bad about others, we should always remember that we’re moving a step away from Bhagawan every time! This is because Bhagawan wants all of us to live in peace and love! There is no space for hatred in Bhagawan’s dictionary. Hence we need to be careful not to enter into all these things and spoil our divine relationship with Bhagawan! 🙂

In this way, Vidura uses this explanation to indirectly ask King Dhirdiraashtra as to why he’s having a negative approach towards the Paandavas? Vidura explains to him that he shouldn’t be afraid of how Duryodhana would react if he leans towards the Paandavas. This is because, if King Dhirdiraashtra would stand by the Dharma, it would protect him from the “Adharmic” Duryodhana. Moreover, Bhagawan Krishna is watching all this play unfolding! If King Dhirdiraashtra takes a stance towards Dharma, definitely Bhagawan Krishna is going to shower his unending grace on him, thereby protecting him from the wrath of his wicked son!

Thus Vidura explains very clearly that we should make a conscious effort to attain that balance and should not get disturbed or over-worked on scolding and abusing others! If we try this, it would definitely be possible and I’m sure if all of us take this as a pledge, the world would become a much better place to live in!

Vidura thus continues in the second line of the same sloka by saying “Satyavaadi mrudhuddhaanthaha yasya utthama purushaha!!” wherein he reiterates this point that a person would be called and hailed as a “Utthama-Purusha” if he stands by the “Dharma” and Truth at all times, even during testing times! A person is also hailed as a “Utthama-Purusha” if he is able to talk in a soft but pointed manner, if he is able to exert complete control on all his five senses and if he’s able to handle any situation without any tension or imbalance!

In the next following sloka, Vidura is now going to explain who is a “Madhyama-Purusha”. This is a category that is one step lower than the “Utthama-Purusha”. Vidura says thus:

“Na anarthakam saanthvayathi prathighnyaaya dadhaashicha!

Randram parasya jaanaathi yahaa sa madhyama purushaha!!”

 Here he explains three important characteristics of a person who falls under the category of “Madhyama-Purusha”. What are they? The first one – “Na anarthakam saanthvayathi!” – If a person promises to give something to someone, he doesn’t go back on his promise. He definitely stands by it and tries to somehow execute the promise. In other words, this person would never end up cheating others by his words and is a trustable person. Secondly he says, “Prathighnyaaya dadhaashicha!!” – This is a continuation of the previous point that this “Madhyama-Purusha” honours his words truly and honestly and if he has to give something to someone duly, he would go ahead and give it without any hesitation.

Thirdly and most importantly he says, “Randram parasya jaanaathi!” – Here he says that this person knows who is at fault for what problem or issue, yet he would not disclose this truth to the outside world. If such a characteristic is imbibed in a person, he would be rated only as a “Madhyama-Purusha”. Thus Vidura says that the person who is an embodiment of all the above-mentioned three characteristics is supposed to be a “Madhyama-Purusha”.

The message from this point is that, if a person doesn’t look at any fault in any living being in this world, he is an “Utthama-Purusha”. However, if a person finds a fault in somebody or something, but refrains himself from expressing it to the world is termed as a “Madhyama-Purusha”. However, if a person keeps on finding faults in everybody and everything and also keeps cribbing about them every time, he is termed as “Adhama-Purusha”, which is the lowest category amongst the three. So for today, let us introspect within ourselves as to which of the three categories of people would we fall under! If we’re falling under the second or the third category, it is evident that we should make a conscious effort to move towards the first category (“Utthama-Purusha”) by not finding faults with anyone or anything in this world unnecessarily.

We shouldn’t forget that Vidura has explained only the first two categories for now – “Utthama-Purusha” and “Madhyama Purusha”. He is yet to talk in detail about the third category – “Adhama-Purusha”. However the way in which he is going to describe “Adhama-Purusha” is going to funny and at the same time, he is going to poke King Dhirdiraashtra with his candid way of explaining! He is not directly going to explain the characteristics of an “Adhama-Purusha” like he did for the other two categories. Instead, Vidura is going to talk about one of King Dhirdiraashtra’s sons – Ducchaasana, who is the brother of Duryodhana and through this, he is going to explain who is an “Adhama-Purusha”! Let us wait for this interesting explanation till the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂

 

In the previous episode we had witnessed the real and the in-depth meaning of the famous sloka that we chant every day – “Lokah Samasthaah Shukino Bhavantu!” The message is very clear here – Any prayer is meant for a universal cause and not for an individual cause. If the prayer is only focused on an individual cause, it is definitely not going to give us any fruit. Whereas if we start praying together for the benefit of the whole world, we would ultimately be able to melt Bhagawan’s heart, and through His love and compassison, the whole world is going to be peaceful and without any problems.

Now Vidura is continuing with the next important point. As we progress further, we shall recollect the sloka once again for the benefit of all our readers:

“Bhaavamichhati sarvasya naabhaave kuruthe manaha!

Satyavaadi mrudhuddhaanthaha yasya utthama purushaha!!”

Now we shall move to the next important phrase – “Naabhaave kuruthe manaha!” Here Vidura explains that we should never ever curse anyone with any bad intention, be it even our worst enemy! In other words, we should never think that this person should suffer in his/her life, for any reason. For instance, even if someone provokes, scolds and abuses us badly, we should never think that this person should suffer for what he/she is doing!

In the modern day, this has become a huge menace – The moment someone hands over an insult of any sorts, be it small or large, how do we react immediately to it? We would utter instantaneously thus, “Oh! Let this person face all sorts of sufferings in this world! Whatever suffering I’m undergoing today, this person should undergo twice of it in future – Not only this person, but his entire family should undergo the same or tougher suffering! His body parts should fail him and he should become handicapped!…..” The list goes on! 🙂 If we start thinking negatively about others in our mind, this negativity starts to clog up our thoughts and heart, and eventually it becomes a “Vaasana” that is bad in nature! However if we think good about others, that would also result in a “Vaasana” that is good in nature! We’ve discussed at length about “Vaasanas” and their roles in our lives in our previous episodes and hence I hope our readers are quite apprised of it by now.

Moreover in the modern day, many of us are addicted to watching “mega-serials” in popular television channels. On a broad perspective, barring very few, are these serials propagating something good about others? Many a times we witness people taking revenge on others, people cursing others so badly, people killing others for a cause, plotting murders, plotting lot of undesirable activities that would harm others potentially! By seeing this every day, what are we gaining at the end of the day? We also get carried away by the bad “Vaasanas” that are spread by these serials! Little do we realize that these serials are highly commercial in nature and they make money out of our own ignorance! If we’re watching these serials again and again every passing day, we should realize clearly that we are only inculcating more and more of the bad “Vaasanaas” on to ourselves and hence, such things are to be avoided strictly, if we’re to progress spiritually!

Thus the important message from today’s episode is that, we should never ever think bad of others in whatever situation we are into! Even if the other person abuses us, scolds us in a bad way, we should still try and maintain our balance not to curse them. We should always remember that if we have bad thoughts about others, these bad thoughts would create an aura around us that is bad, and eventually we would not be able to make any progress spiritually. Each time when we think bad about others, we should always remember that we’re moving a step away from Bhagawan every time! This is because Bhagawan wants all of us to live in peace and love! There is no space for hatred in Bhagawan’s dictionary. Hence we need to be careful not to enter into all these things and spoil our divine relationship with Bhagawan! 🙂

Of course, whatever I’m trying to explain are extremely difficult to follow at one stretch, however, we should spend some time to think about it and try to slowly cut down on all these unnecessary things in life. We should make a conscious effort to attain that balance and should not get disturbed or over-worked on scolding and abusing others! If we try this, it would definitely be possible and I’m sure if all of us take this as a pledge, the world would become a much better place to live in! We shall wait till the next episode to look into the next point in the important sloka of Vidura! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we witnessed a beautiful and an important explanation from Vidura with regards to communication. Vidura clearly explained in the yesterday’s episode that “Silence” is the highest aspect in life. However, if we’re unable to keep silence at all times, we need to stick to the truth (“Sathyam”). It’s not enough if we are only true in our words. We also need to convey the truth in a lucid and a loving way, so that it reaches all people. The truth should be conveyed in a manner that the entire world benefits out of it. Thus finally it is not enough if we just were loving and over-compassionate. If we’re crossing the limit here, we would start talking “Adharma” and would try and appease people unnecessarily by motivating them to do wrong things. Here is where we need to balance between love, compassion and “Dharma”. In other words, even if we are loving and compassionate in our words and actions, we should always stick to the “Dharma” and never deviate from it. We should explain the “Dharma” in a lucid way so that people would be able to appreciate it and implement it in their lives.

Now moving on further, Vidura is now invoking more of Dattathreya’s important messages to drive home certain key points to King Dhirdiraashtra. Vidura says thus:

“Bhaavamichhati sarvasya naabhaave kuruthe manaha!

Satyavaadi mrudhuddhaanthaha yasya utthama purushaha!!”

Vidura now explains here who is an “Utthama-Purusha” in this world? Here the word “Utthama-Purusha” means an exceptional person who is hailed by the entire world! Vidura lists down the characteristics of such a person through the above sloka.

He says, “Bhaavamichhati sarvasya” – This means, a person who is always concerned about the welfare of the entire world along with its living beings. It is to be noted specially here that our Hindu “Sanaathana Dharma” focuses only on praying for the entire world, not only for the individual self. Our “Sanaathana Dharma” believes firmly that if the entire world is protected by Bhagawan, we would automatically be protected too! Hence there is no point in praying only for our own self. There are few other religions existing in this world that propagates praying for the self! Such things are non-existent in our “Sanaathana Dharma” and this is the reason why our Hinduism is hailed as the world’s best religion to follow!

This is where we chant the famous manthra of “Lokah Samastah Sthukino Bhavantu!” This means that the entire world should live in peace and happiness – Not just one individual living in peace and happiness! This is the major difference in approach towards Bhagawan via our “Sanaathana Dharma” and via other religions. Other religions focus on the selfish part of mankind, but “Sanaathana Dharma” focuses on the “selfless” part of mankind, which makes it very special. I’m emphasizing this point more than once because, if our prayers towards Bhagawan are selfish and for fulfilling our own needs, what would happen? For instance, if I live in the 10’th floor of a huge multi-storeyed building and there is a fire accident on the ground floor – Can I sit happily on the tenth floor by saying that the fire is not on my floor and there’s nothing to worry about? How much time would it take for the fire to quickly spread its way to the tenth floor? It would be instantaneous, isn’t it? Hence even if only the ground floor gets affected, I need to run out of the building as quickly as possible to save myself. Similarly with respect to prayers, can I be the only person who is happy when others are suffering? It is only when all living beings are happy, we can also be happy and contented! Similarly, can I pray to Bhagawan that only my house should get uninterrupted water and power supply? Will the clouds come over only to my house and rain? Will Bhagawan himself send the clouds only to our house and make them rain all the water into my well? It’s never going to happen this way! If the clouds rain the water, it is for the whole world to benefit from it and not one single individual!

Hence we can clearly understand here that if any religion propagates selfishness or praying only for our own self, it cannot be called a religion at all in the first place! Thus, we need to be extremely careful in differentiating the inner meaning of prayer. The message from this episode is that, prayer is meant for a universal cause and not for an individual cause. If the prayer is only focused on an individual cause, it is definitely not going to give us any fruit. Whereas if we start praying together for the benefit of the whole world, we would ultimately be able to melt Bhagawan’s heart, and through His love and compasison, the whole world is going to be peaceful and without any problems. Hence for today, let us invoke this important fact and try praying for the whole world, rather than praying for our individual self only! We shall wait till the next episode to explore more of this important sloka of Vidura! Stay tuned! 🙂